Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
INFORMATION
Internet
Try the
Sovann Phum Hotel
, who might let you
use one of their machines for around $1/hr.
Money
The Canadia (Visa and MasterCard) and Acleda
(Visa only) banks have ATMs.
Post
and phones
The post o
ce is 200m west of the
transport stop; you can also make international phone calls
from here.
Shop
There's a well-stocked minimart at the Tela petrol
station.
ACCOMMODATION
Chantea Borint Hotel
(formerly Sokha's Guesthouse)
Near the Independence Monument
T
012 762988.
Easily the most characterful place to stay in town, with a
range of spotless tiled rooms and bungalows (with hot
water for an extra $2, or hot water and a/c for $7) set in a
lovely courtyard garden on a leafy backstreet. Wi-fi, plus
2
restaurant, although it's open for breakfast only.
$6
Sovann
Phum
Hotel
NR5, 200m south of the
Independence Monument
T
026 989333.
This sparkling
modern hotel is Kompong Chnnang's most upmarket
option, with immaculate a/c room
s, plu
s wi-fi, internet and
one of the town's best restaurants.
$15
EATING
Soksan Restaurant
Next to the transport stop.
Friendly little place (with English menu) serving tasty
Khmer dishes (around $2.50), but no Western food bar a
humble omelette or two.
Daily 7am-8pm.
Sovann Phum Restaurant
Sovann Phum Hotel, NR5,
200m south of the Independence Monument
T
026
989333.
Proud home to the largest - or at least the
heaviest - menu in Cambodia, featuring a range of Khmer/
Chinese-style dishes, with a dash of Thai. Prices are slightly
above average (mains mostly $4), although quality's good
and portions are big. It's also about the only place in town
where you can get a proper cup of coffee
. Daily 7am-9pm.
Pursat and around
Named after a tree that used to grow along its riverbanks, the sleepy provincial capital
of
PURSAT
is pretty much the quintessence of humdrum. Within Cambodia, it's
famous mainly for being the nation's main
marble carving
centre, using stone quarried
from the rocky outcrops of the nearby Cardamom Mountains and carved in workshops
around the town and the surrounding countryside. For visitors, the main reason to
come is to explore the fascinating floating village of
Kompong Luong
, and Pursat also
provides a possible starting point for expeditions into the rewarding, but little explored,
northern
Cardamom Mountains
. The town itself is laid out for a couple of kilometres
along NR5 and bisected by the
Stung Pursat
, which flows northeast into the Tonle Sap.
Most of the town's modest cluster of hotels and restaurants are close to the bridge over
the river, on (or just off) the main road.
Koh Sampovmeas
500m north of the market
The main attraction in town (for what it's worth) is the faintly surreal
Koh Sampovmeas
island, in the middle of the Stung Pursat. Once an unspoilt sandbank, the island has
now been encased in painted concrete walls, giving it the appearance of an enormous
ship, with small shrines at prow and stern and the space between neatly paved and
lawned. Come dusk, it's usually busy with games of football, shuttlecock and
impromptu aerobics classes, with lines of Pursat housewives dancing energetically to
the stridently amplified strains of the Cheeky Girls, or similar.
Kompong Luong floating village
35-40km east of Pursat • Motorized boat trips around the village cost $10/hr • Head east along NR5 for 30km, then turn north at Krakor to
the Tonle Sap; it costs around $10-12 return from Pursat by moto, $15-20 by tuk-tuk
KOMPONG LUONG
is the closest of the Tonle Sap's
floating villages
to Pursat, though
